News Category: Guns for Great Causes
Lee Greenwood during his encore performance of “God Bless The U.S.A.” Photo credit: Josh Adams
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (October 12, 2021)
Spectators in the sold-out Von Braun Center crowd were not the only ones in for a treat at Tuesday night’s All-Star Tribute to Lee Greenwood concert. After an introduction from celebrity chef Paula Deen and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Henry Repeating Arms took the stage to present three combat veterans with engraved Military Service Tribute Edition rifles.
Andy Wickstrom, President of Henry Repeating Arms, said, “On behalf of this company and our more than 550 employees, we want to thank you for your courage, and we want to thank your families for the sacrifices that they made for you to answer the call of duty.”
Three Huntsville military veterans and Lee Greenwood were presented with Henry rifles. Photo credit: Josh Adams
Master Sergeant Ken Knight, retired after 23 years in the Army, served 16 years with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the Night Stalkers due to their propensity for attack and recon missions usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice. Staff Sergeant Michael Price served for 14 years with the Marine Corps, including two tours in Fallujah, three years as a mountain warfare instructor, and a Purple Heart award for injuries sustained to his chest and arm from a gunshot wound received by a sharpshooter. Now a father of four, Gunnery Sergeant Brad Wallace served for 12 years with the Marines and deployed five times, including three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As the crowd rose to their feet for the veterans now holding their rifles, Wickstrom called Lee Greenwood to the stage.
“Before we get back to the music, I want to get Mr. Lee Greenwood out here to thank him for his undying patriotism,” said Wickstrom. He continues, “We are proud to present Lee with the finest rifle money can buy, a New Original Henry Silver Deluxe Engraved.”
The award-winning singer and songwriter best known for his patriotic single “God Bless the U.S.A.” celebrated 40 years of hits with a packed lineup of country music notables like Crystal Gayle, The Oak Ridge Boys, Big & Rich, and many more. The show is to become a television special.
RICE LAKE, WI – June 25, 2021
Kalel Hamilton of Leesburg, TX, was diagnosed at age 5 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is seeking an experimental gene therapy treatment that could potentially save his life. (Photo Courtesy of Rick Hamilton)
Henry raised a total of $30,000 with a ‘Guns For Great Causes’ campaign to benefit 8-year-old Kalel Hamilton of Leesburg, Texas. Kalel was diagnosed at the age of 5 with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare and terminal genetic muscle-wasting disease with no known cure. Henry created and donated a total of 50 custom engraved “Flex For Kalel” Edition Golden Boy rifles, which sold out within a matter of hours.
The Hamilton family is working with a 501(c)(3) organization to put together a customized gene therapy treatment for Kalel with the hopes of fighting back against the disease or ultimately finding a cure. To begin production, the family needed to raise $25,000, which prompted a response from Henry Repeating Arms to assist.
“We like to think that Kalel has a lot of toughness to draw from between mountain living, the gritty streets of New York, and 5 Marines in the family. Not to mention that he is named after Superman,” says Rick Hamilton, Kalel’s father. Rick is originally from Ahwahnee, California, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and his wife Nancy is originally from Queens, New York. Both are veterans of the United States Marine Corps and recently moved to Texas to make the doctor visits more convenient. Rick continues, “It was crazy watching how fast the rifles sold out, and we can’t thank Henry Repeating Arms and their audience enough for all of the support they have given us as complete strangers.”
“We have been running ‘Guns For Great Causes’ for well over a decade, and it is now an integral part of our company’s DNA. We are blessed to be able to give back by doing what we do best, which is building rifles,” says Anthony Imperato, President and Owner of Henry Repeating Arms. “With the entire Henry family in his corner, Kalel now has a huge cheering squad that will be there for him throughout his entire fight.”
The Henry “Flex For Kalel” Edition Golden Boy rifles featured engraving work and handpainted accents donated by Baron Engraving of Turnbull, CT. Serial no. 1 sold at auction for $1,525.
On February 23, 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured one of the most iconic images in US military history as six Marines hoisted the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. In October 2019, Harold “Pie” Keller of Brooklyn, Iowa, was identified as one of these Marines, 74 years after Rosenthal took the photograph. With his story almost lost to history, Keller’s hometown is now cementing his legacy with a monument funded in part by American firearms manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms and Iowa-based firearms parts and accessories supplier, Brownells, Inc.
Henry Repeating Arms created a limited-edition series of 100 Golden Boy “Pie Keller Memorial” Edition .22 rifles to raise funds for the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s mission of erecting a memorial in Pie’s hometown of Brooklyn, IA.
The Brooklyn Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is spearheading the memorial construction efforts with $17,000 left to raise to pay for the monument. To assist the foundation, Henry Repeating Arms created a limited-edition series of 100 Golden Boy Pie Keller Memorial Edition rifles (Model #H004PKM). In celebration of Flag Day, the rifles will be available for sale through Brownells’ retail store in Grinnell, IA, and online at Brownells.com starting on Monday, June 14, until supplies last. Henry Repeating Arms is donating $50 for each gun sold and all the proceeds from an online auction for the first rifle in the series. Bidding for serial no. 1 begins on Flag Day as well at Gunbroker.com, item #902646486.
“We sincerely appreciate Henry Repeating Arms, Brownells, and Crow Shooting Supply for stepping up to the plate and providing so much assistance to make this monument a reality,” said Rusty Clayton of the Brooklyn Community Foundation. “This is going to solidify Pie’s name and legacy in our town forever, and we could not have done it without the contributions that will come out of these incredible rifles.”
Henry Repeating Arms created a limited-edition series of 100 Golden Boy “Pie Keller Memorial” Edition .22 rifles to raise funds for the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s mission of erecting a memorial in Pie’s hometown of Brooklyn, IA.
The Pie Keller Memorial rifle features a custom engraved genuine American walnut buttstock depicting a triumphant Keller at the summit of Mount Suribachi, rifle in hand, with his fellow Marines in the background lifting the American flag as seen in Rosenthal’s famous image. The date, “February 23, 1945,” is etched above the design and a flowing scroll banner below contains Keller’s name. Built on Henry’s Golden Boy platform, the .22-caliber rifle also features a Brasslite receiver cover, barrel band, and buttplate with a 20” blued steel octagon barrel. The H004PKM has an MSRP of $744.
“The fact that “Pie” was misidentified for over 76 years is a testament to the man’s humility,” said Anthony Imperato, President, and Owner of Henry Repeating Arms. “He never came forward as one of the flag-raisers, not even to his kids, and I look forward to visiting the memorial to pay my respects to this incredible man in person.”
“We are honored to recognize a true hometown hero who made history by raising the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima more than 75 years ago,” said Pete Brownell, Chairman of Brownells. “The image of the flag-raising has become a symbol of valor and unity in the United States. It’s fitting to have “Pie” Keller’s heroics memorialized on another American icon, the Henry rifle, as it benefits a new memorial to Brooklyn, Iowa’s hometown hero.”
Cpl. Harold “Pie” Keller, right, shakes hands with Sgt. Howard Snyder (KIA), left, as they stand on the rim of Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima between the first and second flag raisings on February 23rd, 1945 (Official Army photo, courtesy of Pfc. George Burns, George Burns Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center).
RICE LAKE, WI – June 8, 2021
American firearms manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms is donating a series of 50 custom Golden Boy lever action rifles to raise funds for the family of 8-year-old Kalel Hamilton who is battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare and terminal genetic disease with no known cure. All of the proceeds raised from the “Flex For Kalel” edition rifles will benefit the non-profit organization Cure Rare Disease on the Hamilton family’s behalf so that Kalel becomes eligible for a custom gene therapy treatment.
Kalel Hamilton, 8-years-old, is diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is seeking an experimental gene therapy treatment that could potentially save his life. (Photo Courtesy of Rick Hamilton)
Last year, Henry Repeating Arms raised more than $175,000 for the families of four sick children, and the “Flex For Kalel” campaign will raise over $25,000 to secure Kalel’s spot in line for the experimental treatment that could potentially save his life and others diagnosed with DMD.
Rick Hamilton, Kalel’s father and U.S. military veteran says, “We are thankful for generous individuals and businesses such as Henry Repeating Arms.” Hamilton continues, “Without them we would not have the ability to help advance science, save our son, and hopefully save others like him.”
The “Flex For Kalel” edition rifles feature a superhero motif as a symbol of Kalel’s endurance and a nod to his name, which is inspired by Kal-El, the birth name of Clark Kent, AKA Superman. Built on Henry’s award-winning Golden Boy platform, the rifles are chambered in .22 S/L/LR and feature a Brasslite receiver cover, blued steel octagon barrel, and genuine American walnut furniture with laser engraving and hand painted accents that include a green muscular dystrophy awareness ribbon. The embellishment work for every rifle is a donation from Baron Engraving of Trumbull, Connecticut. Each rifle in the series is marked with a unique serial number ranging from “FLEXFORKAL01” through “FLEXFORKAL50.”
Henry Repeating Arms is donating a limited-edition run of 50 custom “Flex For Kalel” engraved rifles to raise funds for 8-year-old Kalel Hamilton of California.
Anthony Imperato, President and Owner of Henry Repeating Arms says, “For the first time in Guns For Great Causes history, we have the opportunity to assist a family with getting a potentially breakthrough treatment for a disease with no known cure.” Imperato continues, “This could make a huge impact not just for Kalel and his family but thousands of others in a similar situation, and I will be cheering him on along with the rest of the Henry family.”
To learn more about the “Flex For Kalel” Edition or to make a purchase, visit henryusa.com/flexforkal. The auction for serial number “FLEXFORKAL01” is available on Gunbroker.com, item # 902423919. The last rifle in the series, “FLEXFORKAL50,” is also listed on Gunbroker.com, item #902425008. Both auctions end on June 22, 2021.
A Henry Guns For Great Causes Benefit
3-year-old Preslie Mantsch of Iron River, MI was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in April 2020.
Henry has donated a series of 65 custom rifles that raised a total of $47,040 to benefit the family of 3-year-old Preslie Mantsch from Iron River, Michigan. Preslie was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in April of this year and still has two years of treatment left. All proceeds from the sales and auctions of the rifles are being presented to the Mantsch family to assist with the medical expenses associated with childhood leukemia.
The “Prayers For Preslie” Edition Golden Boy Silver rifles were created under Henry Repeating Arms’ Guns For Great Causes banner, a charitable branch of the company that focuses on raising money through firearm donations for individual sick children, children’s hospitals, veterans’ organizations, shooting sports preservation, and wildlife conservation efforts. So far this year, the company has raised over $175,000 for individual families of sick children and presented Shriners International with a $52,500 check to assist with their philanthropic efforts with the renowned Shriners Children’s Hospitals.
The rifles, which sold for $620 each, sold out within a matter of hours after Henry’s initial announcement. The first and last serial numbers in the series were put up for auction and pulled in an additional $6,525 and $2,075, respectively.
Anthony Imperato, President and Owner of Henry Repeating Arms says, “With Preslie’s father being a frontline medical worker in their community’s fire and ambulance departments, I just can’t imagine the struggle this family has been through so far this year.” Imperato continues, “I want to personally thank everyone who chose to support this family with the purchase of a rifle, and I look forward to seeing little Preslie conquer her road to remission. We’re all rooting for her.”
A Henry Guns For Great Causes Benefit
3-year-old Preslie Mantsch of Iron River, MI was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in April 2020.
Under Henry’s charitable “Guns For Great Causes” banner, company President and owner Anthony Imperato is donating a series of 65 custom “Prayers For Preslie” edition rifles to raise funds for the family of a 3-year-old Michigan girl battling leukemia. The rifles are available for purchase directly through Henry’s website except for the first and last in the series, which are up for auction on Gunbroker.com. All of the proceeds collected from the “Prayers For Preslie” rifles will be presented to the Mantsch family of Iron River, Michigan.
In April of this year, amidst a worldwide pandemic, Preslie Mantsch was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The news was delivered over the phone to her father, Thomas Mantsch, who was waiting in the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital parking lot, unable to be in the same room as his daughter and Preslie’s mother due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thomas is a frontline healthcare worker and first responder in his town’s ambulance and fire department. Preslie is currently undergoing treatment in Milwaukee, four and a half hours away from home, four to five days a week, and she still has two years of treatment left.
Thomas says of his daughter, “Preslie is a magical, kind-hearted, wonderful, smart, and caring little girl. She has a fighting spirit, and I am praying that she beats this.” He continues, “It is nerve-wracking to be working so close to the coronavirus frontlines with a daughter that is immunocompromised because of her chemo. We’re taking every precaution to keep her safe, but it’s hard.”
The “Prayers For Preslie” Edition Golden Boy Silver rifle, chambered in .22 S/L/LR, features a nickel-plated receiver cover, buttplate, and barrel band with a deeply blued steel octagon barrel. The genuine American walnut buttstock is engraved with an orange leukemia awareness ribbon in the middle of stylized butterfly wings, symbolizing hope and Preslie’s endurance. Above the butterfly are the words, “Prayers For Preslie,” in matching bright orange. Baron Engraving of Trumbull, Connecticut, donated the engraving work and hand-painted details. Each rifle in the series is marked with a unique serial number ranging from “PRESLIE01” to “PRESLIE65.”
The “Prayers For Preslie” .22 S/L/LR lever action rifle features an engraved and hand-painted genuine American walnut buttstock with a bright orange leukemia awareness ribbon in a butterfly motif.
Henry President and owner, Anthony Imperato, says, “It is heart-wrenching to think of what children like Preslie and their families have to go through when they get a diagnosis as serious as leukemia.” Imperato continues, “We get so personally invested into each of our Guns For Great Causes benefits as soon as we see the first photo of the kid’s smile, and we hope this goes a long way to helping the Mantsch family in these most challenging of times.”
To learn more about the “Prayers For Preslie” Edition or to make a purchase, visit www.henryusa.com/prayersforpreslie. The auction for serial number “PRESLIE01” is available on Gunbroker.com, item #880628196. The last rifle in the series, “PRESLIE65,” is also listed on Gunbroker.com, item #880628718. Both auctions end on October 20, 2020.
A Henry Guns For Great Causes Benefit
Henry President and Owner, Anthony Imperato, first learned of little Ethan Shaw, a 2-year-old boy from Pleasant View, TN from our good friend and host of Henry TV, 22Plinkster. Ethan was undergoing a fierce battle with ETMR, one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumors encountered in children. Immediately, Imperato committed to manufacture and donate 88 Henry “Ethan’s Army” Edition Golden Boy rifles with all proceeds benefiting the Shaw family to aid with the associated medical expenses.
With the production of the rifles well underway, on June 11, 2020, the worst possible news was received. Ethan Shaw, despite a battle for the ages, had succumbed to his illness.
Ethan was the youngest child in a family of 9 children and passed with a veritable army of love and support behind him. As part of “Guns For Great Causes,” Henry Repeating Arms offers these limited edition rifles in honor of Ethan’s life and to show Ethan and his family that he had a great many more in the Henry family standing right beside him through his struggle. 
The “Ethan’s Army” edition rifle, chambered in .22 S/L/LR, is built on the world-famous Henry Golden Boy platform with a gleaming Brasslite receiver cover, barrel band, and brass buttplate. The genuine American Walnut buttstock is engraved with a silhouette of Ethan in the foreground with his entire family standing behind him in a show of support. Ethan’s profile is hand-painted with a Tennessee flag motif, his home state. Baron Engraving of Trumbull, CT, donated all of the engraving and design work for the “Ethan’s Army” rifle.
All of the rifles are available for purchase directly from Henry Repeating Arms, except for serial number ETHANSARMY01, which is currently up for auction.
Click Here To View The Gunbroker Listing For ETHANSARMY01
Ethan’s final treatments cost the Shaw family upwards of $17,000 a month for medicine, which was not covered by their insurance company’s plan. From the sale of these rifles, Henry Repeating Arms will be able to present the family with over $50,000.
May Ethan Shaw rest in peace and may the Shaw family find healing through their prayers and ours. We are proud to be a part of Ethan’s Army, and we hope you will join us.
The “Ethan’s Army” Edition rifles are SOLD OUT. All rifles were sold in less than 6 hours. Thank you everyone for your support. This will go a long way to helping the Shaw family.
The families of 4-year-old Beckett Burge (L) from Princeton, TX and 3-year-old Sadie Kreinbrink of Ostrander, OH (R) are receiving a total of $78,250 from the sales of rifles donated by Henry Repeating Arms.
BAYONNE, NJ – February 5, 2020 – Henry President and Owner, Anthony Imperato, designed and donated 60 rifles for 4-year-old Beckett Burge of Princeton, Texas, and 66 rifles for 3-year-old Sadie Kreinbrink of Ostrander, Ohio to assist with the medical expenses associated with their leukemia treatments. The firearms were sold directly through Henry Repeating Arms’ website and sold out within hours, and serial number 1 of each edition brought in a total of $8,650 at auction on gunbroker.com. The Burge family is receiving $35,525, and the Kreinbrink family is receiving $45,725 from the sale of these rifles.
After a photo of Beckett Burge and his supportive sister went viral, Imperato reached out to offer assistance through Henry’s Guns For Great Causes program, a charitable branch of the company that focuses on helping sick children, children’s hospitals, veterans’ organizations, 2nd Amendment, shooting sports, and wildlife conservation organizations. The “Beat It Like Beckett” edition rifle showcased an engraved and handpainted gold ribbon on the buttstock, the symbol of childhood cancer awareness.
The “Beat It Like Beckett” edition rifle (top) and the “Sweet Sadie” edition rifle (bottom) sold out within hours of going up for sale on Henry Repeating Arms’ website.
A few months after Sadie Kreinbrink was diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant childhood tumor requiring 66 weeks of chemotherapy treatment, Sadie’s mother reached out to Henry Repeating Arms, and the “Sweet Sadie” edition rifle was born. The custom Golden Boy Silver Youth rifle displays a bright pink ribbon on the buttstock, which is Sadie’s favorite color.
Baron Engraving of Trumbull, CT, donated their engraving and painting services for both rifles.
Henry President and owner, Anthony Imperato, says, “We are so thrilled with our fans and everyone that chose to support the Kreinbrink and Burge family by purchasing one of these rifles. It’s initiatives like this that have the potential to show the media and the rest of the world how great of an industry our firearms industry is.” He continues, “Firearms manufacturers tend to get a black eye by the media more often than not, so this along with all of our other Guns For Great Causes campaigns should go to show all the good we can do.”
Learn more about Henry’s Guns For Great Causes program »
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – April 25, 2019 – Henry Repeating Arms presented engraved tribute edition rifles to a total of six deserving individuals to recognize their service of country, state, and community during the National Rifle Association Foundation Banquet and Auction. The presentation took place in front of a crowd of more than 2,500 people at the Lucas Oil Stadium as the kick-off event for the 2019 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, which opens to the public on Friday, April 26th.
As the primary sponsor of the event, Anthony Imperato, President and owner of Henry Repeating Arms, invited the honorees to join him on stage where they were introduced to the crowd and presented with a Henry rifle. The honorees included the Sheriff of Baron County, Wisconsin, a young veteran who was injured by a 200-pound IED on deployment in Iraq, three World War II veterans, and the father of a young man who was tragically killed in a car accident two weeks after returning from his second combat deployment.
Barron County Wisconsin Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald was the first to take the stage alongside Imperato. “I’d like to begin this presentation with a hero from our neck of the woods in Wisconsin,” said Imperato referring to Henry Repeating Arms’ second manufacturing facility in Rice Lake, WI. Imperato continues, “Barron County became the center of the media world under the unfortunate circumstances of a kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl named Jayme Closs. Sheriff Fitzgerald and his team never gave up hope and will be closing the case on May 24th with the sentencing of the suspect in the case.” Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald was presented with a Henry Law Enforcement Tribute Edition rifle.
Sgt. Omar Avila of Austin, TX was then announced to the stage and handed a Henry Military Services Tribute Edition rifle. Avila joined the U.S. Army in 2004 as an Infantryman and was deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter. A 200-pound Improvised Explosive Device (IED) rocked Avila’s vehicle and caused burns to over 75% of his body and a leg wound that required amputation below the knee of his right leg. Despite his injuries Avila went on to become the current world record holder for the World Association of Bench and Deadlift in the Paralympics category and serve as a motivational figure for his fellow veterans, whom he devotes his life to.
Don Burwell of Shelbyville, IN and Al Hutchcraft of Greenfield, IN were the next individuals asked to join the stage. Both men served in the military during World War II with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army, respectively. Hutchcraft was deployed to Peleliu and Burwell was deployed to Yokohama, Japan. Wetzel “Sundown” Sanders of East Lynn, WV was then called to the stage, another World War II veteran. Sanders was an anti-aircraft gunner stationed at Hospital Point at Pearl Harbor on the day of the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941. A Purple Heart was awarded to Sanders from Senator Joe Manchin in 2017, 76 years after he was injured in the attack. Imperato, looking back at the World War II veterans on stage holding their Henry Military Services Tribute Edition rifles said, “These men are among the last of the greatest generation that our country has ever seen and we owe our freedom to them today.”
Before the presentation concluded Imperato brought one more person on stage, Marshall Easley. Easley’s son, Michael, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and served two combat tours. He was honorably discharged and preparing to attend college but was tragically killed in a car accident just two weeks after returning home from his second deployment. The father and son were both avid Henry collectors, so when the father was brought on stage Imperato presented him with a rifle that they did not have yet in memory of his son and his son’s service. “We know your son is looking down on all of us at this moment and I would like to present this rifle to you in his honor and memory. God rest his soul, God Bless these fine men behind me on stage, and God Bless the United States of America,” concluded Anthony Imperato as the crowd rose to its feet in applause.
